Six-hitting has always been one of the biggest attractions of the Indian Premier League, but the tournament's batting explosion has reached another level in recent years.
IPL 2025 shattered records with 1,294 sixes across the season, and IPL 2026 is already threatening to surpass that mark midway through the campaign. Young Indian batters like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma and Priyansh Arya are now dominating the six-hitting charts in a tournament once ruled almost entirely by overseas power-hitters.
Sooryavanshi, in particular, is rapidly climbing towards one of the IPL's most iconic records - Chris Gayle's 59 sixes in a single season.
| Rank | Player | Inns | Runs | HS | SR | 6s | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Gayle (RCB) | 14 | 733 | 128* | 160.74 | 59 | 2012 |
| 2 | Andre Russell (KKR) | 13 | 510 | 80* | 204.81 | 52 | 2019 |
| 3 | Chris Gayle (RCB) | 16 | 708 | 175* | 156.29 | 51 | 2013 |
| 4 | JC Buttler (RR) | 17 | 863 | 116 | 149.05 | 45 | 2022 |
| 5 | Chris Gayle (RCB) | 12 | 608 | 107 | 183.13 | 44 | 2011 |
| 6 | Abhishek Sharma (SRH) | 16 | 484 | 75* | 204.21 | 42 | 2024 |
| 7 | Nicholas Pooran (LSG) | 14 | 524 | 87* | 196.25 | 40 | 2025 |
| 8 | Shreyas Iyer (PBKS) | 17 | 604 | 97* | 175.07 | 39 | 2025 |
| = | Chris Gayle (RCB) | 14 | 491 | 117 | 147.44 | 38 | 2015 |
| = | Virat Kohli (RCB) | 16 | 973 | 113 | 152.03 | 38 | 2016 |
| = | Heinrich Klaasen (SRH) | 15 | 479 | 80* | 171.07 | 38 | 2024 |
| = | Virat Kohli (RCB) | 15 | 741 | 113* | 154.69 | 38 | 2024 |
| = | Suryakumar Yadav (MI) | 16 | 717 | 73* | 167.91 | 38 | 2025 |
| 10 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | 9 | 400 | 103 | 238.09 | 37 | 2026 |
Here's a complete look at the player with the most sixes in every IPL season.
Most sixes in each IPL season
| Season | Player | Team | Sixes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Brendon McCullum | KKR | 13 |
| 2009 | Adam Gilchrist | Deccan Chargers | 29 |
| 2010 | Robin Uthappa | RCB | 27 |
| 2011 | Chris Gayle | RCB | 44 |
| 2012 | Chris Gayle | RCB | 59 |
| 2013 | Chris Gayle | RCB | 51 |
| 2014 | Glenn Maxwell | PBKS | 36 |
| 2015 | Chris Gayle | RCB | 38 |
| 2016 | Virat Kohli | RCB | 38 |
| 2017 | Glenn Maxwell | PBKS | 26 |
| 2018 | Rishabh Pant | DC | 37 |
| 2019 | Andre Russell | KKR | 52 |
| 2020 | Ishan Kishan | MI | 30 |
| 2021 | KL Rahul | PBKS | 30 |
| 2022 | Jos Buttler | RR | 45 |
| 2023 | Faf du Plessis | RCB | 36 |
| 2024 | Abhishek Sharma | SRH | 42 |
| 2025 | Nicholas Pooran | LSG | 40 |
| 2026* | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | RR | 37 |
*2026 season ongoing
Chris Gayle still owns the ultimate IPL six-hitting record
Despite
the rise of modern power-hitters, nobody has managed to surpass Chris Gayle's outrageous 2012 season yet.
Playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gayle smashed 59 sixes in only 14 innings while scoring 733 runs at a strike rate above 160.
That remains the highest number of sixes hit in a single IPL season.
Gayle actually appears four separate times among the top single-season six-hitting campaigns in IPL history, underlining how dominant he was during his RCB peak.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi chasing history in IPL 2026
At just 15 years old, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is already threatening some of the league's biggest batting records.
The Rajasthan Royals opener has hammered 37 sixes in only nine innings so far during IPL 2026, including a stunning 103 off 38 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad where he hit 12 maximums.
His current strike rate stands at a ridiculous 238.09.
If he maintains this pace through the remainder of the season, he could realistically challenge Gayle's all-time IPL record of 59 sixes.
Most sixes by an Indian player in every IPL season
For years, overseas stars dominated the IPL's power-hitting charts. But Indian batters have increasingly taken over in the last decade.
| Season | Indian Player | Sixes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Rohit Sharma | 19 |
| 2009 | Rohit Sharma | 13 |
| 2010 | Robin Uthappa | 27 |
| 2011 | Virat Kohli | 16 |
| 2012 | Rohit Sharma | 28 |
| 2013 | Rohit Sharma | 29 |
| 2014 | Robin Uthappa | 16 |
| 2015 | Virat Kohli | 23 |
| 2016 | Virat Kohli | 38 |
| 2017 | Manish Pandey | 17 |
| 2018 | Rishabh Pant | 37 |
| 2019 | Hardik Pandya | 29 |
| 2020 | Ishan Kishan | 30 |
| 2021 | KL Rahul | 30 |
| 2022 | Sanju Samson | 26 |
| 2023 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | 26 |
| 2024 | Abhishek Sharma | 42 |
| 2025 | Shreyas Iyer | 39 |
| 2026* | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | 37 |
Most sixes by an Overseas Player in every IPL season
| Season | Overseas Player | Sixes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Brendon McCullum | 13 |
| 2009 | Adam Gilchrist | 29 |
| 2010 | Kieron Pollard | 15 |
| 2011 | Chris Gayle | 44 |
| 2012 | Chris Gayle | 59 |
| 2013 | Chris Gayle | 51 |
| 2014 | Glenn Maxwell | 36 |
| 2015 | Chris Gayle | 38 |
| 2016 | AB de Villiers | 37 |
| 2017 | Glenn Maxwell | 26 |
| 2018 | Shane Watson | 35 |
| 2019 | Andre Russell | 52 |
| 2020 | Nicholas Pooran | 25 |
| 2021 | Glenn Maxwell | 21 |
| 2022 | Jos Buttler | 45 |
| 2023 | Faf du Plessis | 36 |
| 2024 | Heinrich Klaasen | 38 |
| 2025 | Nicholas Pooran | 40 |
| 2026* | Ryan Rickelton | 20 |
IPL's power-hitting era is becoming increasingly Indian
One of the biggest shifts in recent IPL seasons has been the rise of Indian six-hitters.
Between 2011 and 2020, overseas players almost completely controlled the six-hitting leaderboards. But players like Abhishek Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal and now Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have changed that trend dramatically.
The IPL's next generation of power hitters may no longer be imported stars - they may already be homegrown.
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